A guest post from having fun- spending less.

My name is Amanda and you can find me at: http://havingfun-spendingless.co.uk or follow my on Twitter @HavingFun6

My blog is about life as a family of four, making the most of the budget we have whilst not compromising on fun. It’s filled with budgeting ideas, activity and day out suggestions, and random family life ramblings.

I’m a mother of two girls, married to my school sweet heart and I work full time as a midwife. It’s a midwifery experience which is the basis of my guest post.

I remember being pregnant (although it’s getting to be a bit of a distant memory!). You want to buy everything that you need before your baby is born. You want everything to be just perfect. More than that, you don’t want to be caught out in the middle of the night, with a screaming unsettled baby because you haven’t bought something you ‘should’ have.

As a midwife and a mother, here is my number one suggestion to you. Don’t buy a breast pump!

Don’t misunderstand me, I’m very pro-breastfeeding, I just don’t want you to waste your money. I do wonder how many un-used breast pumps go to land fill every year. Nearly every new mum I work with has bought an ‘off the supermarket shelf’ breast pump. My personal feeling? You get what you pay for with breast pumps and I see many, many mums simply throwing away barely used equipment because they either don’t need it or it doesn’t meet their needs.

My advice to you, if you intend to breastfeed is to get help establishing breastfeeding from everybody that you can. Midwives, peer supporters, La Leche, NCT, friends and family, the list goes on. Concentrate on really mastering position and attachment, and get help at the soonest opportunity if you are struggling. Breastfeeding is a skill that both mums and babies need to learn, and sometimes it’s a long process. Get someone to teach you hand expression, it’s so easy when you know how…plus it’s free and your breasts don’t need to be sterilised like a pump.

If your baby is preterm, the neonatal unit will provide you with a very good, very expensive breast pump to use whilst your baby is in hospital. They are far superior to the ones you will buy in the shop.

Once breastfeeding is established and you know that you intend to continue breastfeeding, then think about buying a pump. I’m not allowed to give professional recommendations, but personally I used a Medela electric pump and found it to be brilliant. They can be ordered online on next day delivery if you’re desperate.

So that’s my baby-budgeting advice for you! Thank you to Becky for giving me the opportunity to guest post. Why not hop over to my blog to see what Becky suggests for summer holiday activities? http://havingfun-spendingless.co.uk